Game



Feb. 19, H FREEDMAN 7 GAME Filed Sept. 10, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l ATTO R N EY Feb. 19, 1952 FREEDMAN 2,586,917

GAME Filed Sept. 10, 1947 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 P a A. 25 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1952 GAME Benjamin H. Freedman, Asbury Park, N. J., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to James S. Cushman, New York, N. Y., and Harold F. Moonert, Willoughby, Ohio, jointly Application September 10, 1947, Serial No. 773,093

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to games such as crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, chess and checkers.

Among the objects of the present invention it is aimed to provide an improved game characterized by a base and markers, the plan of the base of which may be readily changed at will and the markers attached relative to the plan of such base by a pressure sensitive phenomenon.

To this end, the invention aims to provide a cover, envelop or folder composed of a transparent material having an outer pressure sensitive co-functioning face to cooperate with the face of a marker and enable the marker to be removably attached thereto, the transparent cover, envelop or folder being adapted to interchangeably receive one of a number of plans, as an instance, one plan to form a checker board, another to form a chess board, another to form the base for a jigsaw puzzle, or any of several plans to form a base for a cross-word puzzle.

A game made according to the present invention can, of course, be used to advantage on a moving vehicle, boat, airplane or the like, since the danger of accidentally displacing the markers is minimized, if not entirely eliminated. Furthermore, it makes it possible as in the case of a jigsaw puzzle or cross-word puzzle to complete a part of the puzzle and lay it aside and return to it later on without danger of having the markers accidentally displaced.

Another important advantage is that, particularly with a traveler, he can with a minimum of equipment be in position to play a maximum number of games, to wit, with one and the same equipment he can select any one of at least four games such as checkers, chess, a cross-Word puzzle or a jigsaw puzzle.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the subjoined detail description of specific embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a perspective of a transparent envelop open at both ends made according to one embodiment. 1

Fig. 2 is a perspective flexed of a marker.

Fig. 3. is a plan view of a guide suitable for the game of checkers or chess.

Fig. 4 is a plan of a guide suitable for a crossword puzzle. 1

Fig. 5 is a perspective opened of a folder made according to a second embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective of an envelop made ac- I cording to a third embodiment with two adjacent edges opened.

Fig. 7 is a perspective of a cover made according to a fourth embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a perspective of a cover made according to a fifth embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a perspective of a guide suitable for checkers, chess, or a cross-word puzzle.

Fig. 10 is a fragmental detail of a number of adjacently positioned jigsaw parts.

Fig. 11 is an exploded view of another embodiment for use in playing the game tick-tack-toe.

Fig. 12 is an exploded view of still another embodiment showing the use of this invention for an adjustable clock.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, there is provided an envelop in the present instance composed of two side walls I and 2, open at their ends but closed at the edges 3 and 4. The sheets I and 2 constituting supporting sheets are preferably composed of some transparent material such as celluloid or other suitable plastic transparent material having outer naturally glossy or highly polished non-aqueous, non-tacky, and readily washable faces which may serve as a pressure sensitive surface to enable markers, such as the markers 5, preferably havin a pressure sensitive surface to adhere thereto. Excellent results have been achieved when the attaching sheets or markers 5 are composed of some substance such as oilcloth having a glossy face on I one side thereof, or polyvinyl chloride having at least one glossy face or a cloth or paper coated with pyroxylin to form a glossy face, the glossy faces of these markers then being used to engage the glossy faceof the sheets I or 2 to attach thereto. It has been found that when the envelop and markers are composed of such substances, such as polyvinyl chloride with glossy faces, the same will be non-aqueous, non-tacky, and readily washable. and the markers can indefinitely be repeatedly attached and removed from the envelop without materially losing the attaching characteristics. If the game to played is checkers, a guide sheet or base 6 defining a checker board is inserted in the envelop I and serves as the guide for locating the checkers or markers 5 on the sheets I or 2 of the envelop I, whichever sheet, I, 2, is uppermost. In turn, if the game to be played is a cross-word puzzle, then a base such as the base 8 having a crossword puzzle plan marked thereon is inserted in the envelop I and inspected through the transparent wall I, 2, to serve as a guide for the markers 5 in which case the markers 5 will have letters formed thereon to correspond to the letter required to form the word desired. In the combination so far described, it is of course obvious that the composition of the guide, such as the base 8 or base 8, is immaterial, and similarly that the physical form or structure of the surface of the guide, such as the base 6 or 8 which is visible through the transparent sheets I, 2, is immaterial so lon as the opposing faces of the sheets I, 2 and of the attaching markers 5, is a non-aqueous, non-tacky, and readily washable glossy surface.

Instead of the envelop 'I illustrated in Fig. 1, it may have only two ends open as illustrated, only one end open or any two adjacent ends alone open, a folder, such asthe folder 9 illustrated in Fig. 5, may be used, the folder 9 consisting of two leaves or sheets I and II forming a dihedral angle spaced from one another as illustrated in Fig. and attached to one another along the edge I2. The sheets I0 and II should be preferably of the same size as the sheets I, 2 of Fig. 1

to correspond to the size of the bases 6, 8.

In turn, instead of the folder 9, an envelop, such as the envelop I3, Fig. 6, having the sheets I4 and I5 connected to one another along the adjacent edges 16 and I! may be used.

Still, furthermore, in place of the envelop I3 a transparent sheet, such as the sheet I8 illustrated in Fig. 7 having two flanges I9 and 20 to support the guide 6 or guide 8 may be used.

Still, furthermore, in place of the sheet I8, a plain sheet 2I, see Fig. 8, may be used to be attached to the upper face of the base 6 or 8 by any suitable means, such as the wire clip 22 or the like, or the sheet 2| may be provided with openings, such as the openings 23, adjacent their corners. Obviously two or more openings would be sufiicient in order to position the sheet 2I on a base 5 or 8 if the base 6 or 8 has projections, such as the projections 24 shown on the base 25, Fig. 9. While four openings 23 and four projections 24 are illustrated, it is of course obvious that at most two openings 23 with two cooperating projections 24 will be required to position the sheet 2| on the base 25. In the case of the transparent supporting sheet I it will of course appear that the edges 3 and 4 will serve as guides for positioning the guide sheets 6 or 8, in the case of the folder 9 the edge between the sheets I9 and II will serve as the guide, in the case of the envelop I3, the edges I6 and I! will serve as the guide, and in the case of the supporting sheet I8 the edges between the flanges I9 and 20 and the main supporting sheet will serve as the guide. In the case of the transparent sheet 2 I, on the other hand, either the openings adjacent the outer edges of the sheet will serve as guides when receiving the projections 24, or the clip 22 will serve as the guide. In view of the foregoing, the word "adjacent when qualifying the position of the guides when used in the claims is intended to connote not only contiguity, but also nearness. To meet the requirements of the present invention, at least one of the sheets I and 2 of the envelop I, at least one of the sheets III and II of the folder 9, at least one of the sheets I4, I5 of the envelop I3, and the sheets I8 and 2| are composed of a suitable transparent material, such as celluloid, nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, Vinylite, acrylate, or glass, and the like, having either a naturally glossy or highly polished pressure sensitive dry surface in engagement with a glossy or highly polished dry face of the marker 5 which marker, as aforesaid, need not necessarily be transparent, as a matter of fact, preferably opaque, and composed of some flexible substance, such as oilcloth, Vinylite, pyroxylin, nitrocellu- 4 lose, cellulose acetate and the like. In turn, the supporting sheet, such as the sheets I and 2, need not be flexible but may be composed of a rigid substance such as glass, in which case the marker or attaching sheet 5 should be flexible, the glass in turn to have a smooth, highly polished finish, and one of the faces of the attaching sheet or marker 5 provided with a natural glossy or highly polished face so that the polished faces when pressed into engagement with one another will adhere. Alhough flexible sheets, such as the markers 5, may with facility be removed from the rigid supporting sheet I when they are peeled ofl', they will resist lateral movement relative to the rigid supporting sheet I.

It will appear from the foregoing that, without departing from the spirit of the invention, the envelops 'I, I3, folder 9 and sheets I 8, 2I may be composed of any suitable transparent material having a naturally glossy or highly polished outer face, such for instance as glass, polymerized vinyl chloride, polymerized vinyl acetate, co-polymerized polyvinyl alcohol and butylaldehyde, co-

polymerized vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, and

co-polymerized vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate and maleic anhydride, especially when plasticized, cellulose nitrate such as cellulose esterifled with nitric acid, preferably not nitrated beyond 11%, nitrocellulose associated with camphor to produce pyroxylin especially when plasticized with castor oil, tributyl phosphate and the like, cellulose acetate such as cellulose esterlfied with acetic acid anhydride, especially when plasticized with methyl-ethyl phthalate, urea-formaldehyde resins or melamine-formaldehyde resins. especially when plasticized with oil modified alkyds. In turn, it is of course obvious, Without departing from the spirit of the invention, that various plasticizers may be used for those already mentioned in the class, including polyalcohol derivatives, naphthalene derivatives, phosphoric acid derivatives, phthalic acid derivatives, saturated and unsaturated fatty acid derivatives, various other aliphatic or aromatic acid derivatives, sucrose compounds, urea compounds, and the like.

It is, of course, also obvious that a suitable acrylate, composed of acrylic or methacrylic resin, if transparent, will also serve as a composition for the envelops I, I3, folder 9, or sheets I8, 2 I. If the marker 5 is flexible, then it may be immaterial whether the envelop I or cover for the guide 6, 8, 25 is rigid. However, if it is desired to make the envelop or cover flexible or semi-flexible, particularly in the case of acrylate, it can either be effected by co-polymerization of the proper monomers, or by adding a suitable plasticizer, such as benzyl sebacate, butyl phthalate and the like.

In co-pending applications, to wit, Ser. No. 740,099, filed April 8, 1947, in the name of Emil J. Heggedal, and Ser. No. 773,094, filed September 10, 1947, in the names of Benjamin H. Freedman and Emil J. Heggedal, use is also made of the polished surfaces hereinabove referred to.

When a game such as chess is to be played, the conventional checker board 6 may, of course, be inserted in the envelop 1 or I3 or folder 9 or associated with the cover I8 or sheet 2I. When, on the other hand, a game to be played is a jigsaw puzzle, then it is possible entirely to dispense with any base, but instead of the markers 5, 6 to use the markers of different irregular shapes, such as the markers 26, Fig. 10, corresponding to the conventional irregularly shaped pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

tic coating thereon to form the glossy pressuresensitive face.

Without departing from the spirit of the invention, in place of the guide or base 6, a card 21, such as illustrated in Fig. 11, forming the plan for the game tick-tack-toe may be used, associated with either the envelopes I, 13, folder 9 or sheets I8, 2 I, or a card 20, such as illustrated in Fig. l2 having the indices of a time piece may be associated with the envelops 1, l3, folder 9 and sheets I8 and 2|.

For the tick-tack-toe game, the marker, such as the red marker 29, and marker such as the black marker 30, may be used for the opposing players, and the arms 3| and 32 used for the min- .ute and hours hands to be secured on the envelops or enclosures for these cards. The markers 29, 30 and arms 3|, 32 will be composed of the same or similar material to that of the marker 5.

When the term guide is used in the claims, it will be understood not only to cover a board or support having illustrated thereon a map, design or the like, visible through the transparent sup port, but also a game indicia sheet such as a checker board, chess board, or cross-word puzzle board. If the guide is a board having a map illustrated thereton, then the objective might be to outline or trace a river, boundary line or the like with markers attached to the transparent support to trace such river, boundary line or the like, or the objective might be to place jigsaw puzzle pieces of various irregular shapes onto the transparent support to cover a predetermined territory, such as a state or the like illustrated on the "guide and visible through the transparent support. Similarly, if the "guide is a board or support having a design illustrated thereon, such as that of a house or the like, the objective might be to place markers of irregular shape, such as jigsaw puzzle pieces onto. the transparent support to reproduce the design with such jigsaw puzzle pieces.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction of both the board and markers without de- 6 parting from the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a transparent supportting sheet, a guide sheet disposed adjacent to said supporting sheet and having demarcations thereon visible through the supporting sheet, said transparent sheet having a guide at its edge to position said guide sheet. the opposing faces of said transparent sheet and guide sheet being free relative to one another, and plasticized flexible resin attaching sheets removably attached to said supporting sheet, the supporting sheet and attaching sheets having dry non-aqueous, nontacky, and readily washable glossy surfaces which enable attaching the one to the other when pressed into engagement with one another and which enable ready disengagement when a peel-' ing force is exercised on the flexible sheets, the attaching sheets to be secured to the supporting sheet in accordance with demarcations on said sheet.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the attaching sheets are composed of polymerized vinyl chloride.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the transparent sheet as well as the attaching sheets are flexible and both are composed of a polymerized vinyl chloride.

' BENJAMIN H. FREEDMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Webster's New International Dictionary, 2d edition, Merriam Publishing 00., copyright 1945, p. 1338 item to "Johannson Gauge Blocks." 

